By Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times
Ousted Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes and 21st Century Fox are in talks to settle the sexual harassment suit filed by former anchor Gretchen Carlson, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The talks, first reported by Vanity Fair, are an effort by the attorneys for Ailes and the parent company of the news operation he ran for 20 years, to avoid a trial where other alleged victims of sexual harassment would have to come forward publicly with their accounts. After Carlson’s complaint went public, other women contacted her lawyers to describe similar experiences with Ailes.
“The company does not want to subject any woman who came forward to a public trial,” said a person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to publicly comment.
While Ailes was indemnified by 21st Century Fox when he was chairman and chief executive of Fox News, he would help fund any settlement. Ailes left the company with a severance of around $40 million.
A spokesperson for 21st Century Fox declined to comment. A spokesperson for Carlson’s attorneys had no information on the settlement talks.
Ailes, 76, resigned July 21, less than two weeks after 21st Century Fox investigated sexual harassment claims against him. The inquiry, which followed a suit filed July 6 by Carlson, alleged that Ailes sabotaged her career because she rebuffed his sexual advances and complained about a hostile work environment.
Carlson’s contract was not renewed in June after 11 years at Fox News Channel. She was earning more than $1 million annually in her last deal.
The investigation into harassment charges against Ailes, conducted by the law firm Paul, Weiss, is still ongoing. More than 25 women who have worked at Fox News have come forward to detail incidents of harassment.
According to one person briefed on the matter, the probe has not widened to look at other executives at the company.
Other women have told stories about Ailes’ alleged behavior to journalists. One of them, a former Washington bureau staffer named Laurie Luhn, said Ailes authorized a $3.15 million settlement for her to exit the company after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against him. The large dollar amount indicates the autonomy that Ailes had as he built Fox News into a major profit center at 21st Century Fox.
Ailes has denied all of the sexual harassment allegations made by Carlson and other women.
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